Monday, January 16, 2017

It turns out that having a baby had a very large impact on my reading (and I didn't even manage to write up my annual booklist for 2015 until now!). Apparently I read 63 books in 2015, and 21 in 2016. As someone who thinks of herself as a reader, it was a disorienting year, and one in which I went for large periods of time without even a book on the go. I think not commuting was maybe as big a factor as the actual baby. Whatever the case, 2016 was a lean year for books, and one in which murder mysteries and graphic novels are strongly represented. It wasn't even a strong year in terms of the books themselves, but there were good ones as always.Snow by Orhan Pamuk was probably my favourite, it was refreshing to get stuck into it and be reminded of the power of books. It was also transporting and an interesting insight into Turkey and its religious tensions. Although I have to say that maybe three quarters of the way in it started to drag a bit, and lose some direction to my mind. It didn't fully recover by the end, but was still worth finishing and was definitely thought-provoking with some engaging characters.Ombria in Shadow by Patricia McKillop was also very good. She writes this sort of oblique fantasy, for want of a better word, I mean it is straighforwardly fantasy but her stories and their plots alsways feel kind of sideways. It feels refreshing though, and the worlds are beautiful. This story of a kingdom and its shadow world was one of my best reads of the year.Lucy Knisley's graphic memoirs are always a fun read, very reflective, very Gen Y I think but I like that (it's my generation after all). I wanted to read her book about getting married recently and her reflections on her relationship and wedding traditions, so first I ended up reading her books about travelling and youth and family, which were also good. Goodwood was a book I picked up on impulse at the library after feeling like I'd seen it around a lot, and it was actually a great choice. It's an Australian mystery/coming of age story set in a small country town, and I think she pulled it off really well. I enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See as well, although I always feel like there can't be any good WWII books left to write. The Robert Galbraith mysteries and Ben Aaronovitch fantasy police procedurals are always good fun.So there you have it, I complained about this year but there were a lot of good books after all! Here's the full list:Career of Evil- Robert GalbraithOmbria in Shadow- Patricia A. McKillipHow Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm: And other adventures in parenting- Mei-Ling HopgoodSweet Danger- Margery AllinghamSlade House- David MitchellThe Simple Act of Reading- Debra Adelaide (ed.)Deep Secret- Diana Wynne JonesStoner- John WilliamsRoadside Picnic- Arkady Strugatsky, Boris StrugatskyAll the Light We Cannot See- Anthony DoerrDisplacement: A Travelogue- Lucy KnisleyAn Age of License: A Travelogue- Lucy KnisleyThe Case of the Gilded Fly- Edmund CrispinThe Dead in their Vaulted Arches- Alan BradleyAs Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust- Alan BradleySea Lovers: Selected stories- Valerie MartinSnow- Orhan PamukSomething New: Tales from a makeshift bride- Lucy KnisleyThe Shepherd's Crown- Terry PratchettGoodwood- Holly ThrosbyThe Hanging Tree- Ben Aaronovitch